As adults living in a fast-paced consumerist society, it’s easy to give in to the pressure thrust upon us by the cinema, social media and television to think and act a certain way. Every day, we’re bombarded with advertisements, programming, films and other influences that reinforce the idea that success is only achieved when we’ve reached some arbitrary level of wealth, status or power.
We’re told that to be “successful”, we have to have a good job. Not a healthy, enjoyable or fulfilling job, mind you; that’s not important, as long as it pays well. We’re pressured to buy expensive things, even if it puts us in financial peril. After all, who cares if your fiscal future is completely destroyed, as long as you’ve got that fast car, nice house and shiny watch?
This is the world we live in; one driven to self destruction by an obsession with instant gratification, convenience and tawdry symbols of material status. In this world, one of the strongest and most deeply entrenched ideas is that of a stable relationship as the mark of a successful, distinguished individual.
But what if this is all a lie? What if (bear with us here), being single isn’t actually all that bad? Is there a way to be a healthy, functional adult without a romantic partner? Is it possible that not having a romantic partner can actually be a good thing, leading to a healthier, freer lifestyle and less emotional stress? You’ll find out the answers to all these questions and more below!
Relationships: not all they’re cracked up to be
Now, if you’re in a stable, healthy and mutually beneficial relationship, that’s great. The point of this article isn’t to talk about how all relationships are terrible, or how you should end yours immediately. Rather, we’d just like to point out how desperately pursuing a relationship can be very damaging, and can leave you worse off than you would have been single.
The thing is, in western culture, we’re told to prioritize relationships above everything else. Whether it’s explicit or implicit, we’re led to believe that simply having a relationship is the most important thing in life, even if you have to make important compromises to achieve that goal. Whether it’s overt or not, the general line of reasoning is that it’s better to be in a bad relationship than no relationship at all.
Unfortunately, despite the prevalence of this way of thinking, living your life like this is bound to cause you a great deal of unpleasantness sooner rather than later. When you start to make compromises on what you want from a relationship and a partner, you will eventually find yourself in situations where neither of you are happy.
So what are you to do? Swear off relationships altogether? Hardly! Relationships can be great, allowing you to grow as a person in ways you likely wouldn’t when single. However, before you can find a good relationship, you’ve got to be comfortable with being single. Once you’re ok with being single, you can work on yourself, figure out what you want out of a relationship, and whether or not you want a relationship at all.
The hard part: being single
This is where things get a bit dicey. If you’re used to being in relationships and aren’t very comfortable outside of them, you might have a hard time acclimating to single life. Even things like going to the movies, hitting the bar for a drink or simply sleeping alone are going to be a bit unpleasant at the beginning, due to societal expectations and pressures.
Once you’re out of the woods, however, you’ll find that being single isn’t actually all that bad. When you aren’t constantly obsessing over your partner, what they’re doing and where they are, you’re free to explore new possibilities, have fun and just enjoy life. No romantic troubles, no worries about infidelity or insecurity; just you, having fun and growing as a person. You can
So what can you do when you’re single, and how can you do it? What are the advantages of being single that we mentioned before, and how can you take advantage of them yourself? These are the questions that we want to answer in this next section, so hang onto your hat and get ready to have some fun!
More freedom
The first and most attractive aspect of being single is simple: freedom! When you aren’t in a committed relationship, you have the freedom to do anything you want, go anywhere you’d like and more or less live as you see fit. There’s nothing holding you back, nothing telling you what to do, and no one judging your choices. Effectively, you can start a new life.
Do you like partying? Well, when you’re single you can have a blast doing just that! When you’ve got no boyfriend or girlfriend to tell you where you can go or how late you can be out, you’re free to enjoy the night and indulge in anything you care to. Go on a vacation, explore a new city, buy yourself something with the money you would have spent on your partner. Being free is wonderful!
This freedom doesn’t just extend to partying and having fun; it can extend far, far further. Have you ever thought of moving? There are a ton of places where a single person can do well for themselves, living their best life and realizing their full potential. When you’re single, there’s no reason to hold yourself back!
If you were being held back by a partner with less ambitious dreams, leave that life behind and find a real estate agent in the area you want to move to. Before you know it, you might just be moved to one of the best cities for single people in the country. Spend a little while living in a place like this and you’ll wonder why you didn’t move sooner!
An opportunity to grow as a person
Another great thing about being single is the way it allows you to explore yourself and grow as a person, discovering what you want out of a relationship and out of life in general. When you aren’t preoccupied with the needs of your partner, you can take better care of yourself, explore what you need, and what direction you want to take in life.
If you want to take advantage of this, you’ll need to start asking some difficult questions and setting clear but achievable goals.Start living your best life; adopt healthy habits, start eating right, sleeping right and getting the right amount of exercise. Don’t push yourself too hard, but don’t underestimate yourself either.
Once you’re in a better place mentally, physically and emotionally, you can start figuring out whether or not you want a relationship. If you decide you want a relationship, you can start figuring out what you want from a relationship, and how important a relationship is to you. When you do find a relationship, you’ll be happy you took these steps!
Going forward: new horizons
After you’ve been single for a while, there’s a good chance you’ll start to like life on your own. Freedom to live your life as you see fit, the freedom to make your own decisions and the opportunity to grow as a person are all things that you’re liable to fall in love with. This life can be immensely enjoyable, and it’s up to you whether or not you want to make a change by starting a relationship.
This is arguably the best time of your life to start a relationship, when you think about it. Relationships often fail because they aren’t built on the right foundation. After you’ve been single for a while, you realize that you don’t need anyone else to be happy, and that you’re fine on your own. Once you realize this, you can choose a partner who suits you well and who will be a reliable, trustworthy and honest person to stand by your side.
Conclusion
While our societal norms and pop culture would have you believe that you can’t be happy without a romantic partner this is simply not the case. There is so much that you can do outside of the context of a relationship that we simply didn’t have the time or space to touch on in this article. You can go anywhere you want, do anything you want and most importantly, be whoever you want to be. The world is yours; you just have to reach out and take it!
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